Denver Police Take Steps To Keep Officers Safe Following Baton Rouge Shooting
DENVER, Colo. (CBS4) - Police officers in the Denver metro area were on alert in response to the deadly police shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Denver police dispatch relayed news of the startling shooting over the officers' radio system as the events unfolded Sunday morning.
"Seven officers outside of their headquarters were gunned down," announced a dispatcher. "Three are dead so far."
Denver police spokesperson Raquel Lopez said that the department was taking steps to ensure the safety of officers.
"All officers should be vigilant coming to the station or around our headquarters," DPD dispatch rang out.
For their safety, Denver police officers on duty Sunday morning were asked to return to their district stations and pair up into teams of two.
"And continue to staff two officers in a car until further notice due to the occurrences in Baton Rouge, Louisiana this morning," continued the radio instructions.
The occurrences also weighed on the mind of Julius Kilpatrick, who CBS4's Melissa Garcia spoke with as he waited with his family for Sunday brunch.
"It's an overwhelming situation to where the police are getting shot now. That's how angry people are that that's their reaction, when that's the opposite reaction we should have," said Kilpatrick of recent officer-involved shootings across the country.
While studying law enforcement in college, Kilpatrick set aside his career plans to go into law enforcement. He said that decision had much to do with the current climate that police are facing.
"There's a lot of danger being a law enforcement officer," Kilpatrick said. "Just wearing a badge can get you shot, and so it's a bad climate. And I think we all just need to take a step back.
"You can't equate a whole entire team to one person. Just like us as African-Americans or us as community members don't like being lumped into a large group, you can't lump a few bad officers into a large group," Kilpatrick said. "Or, that's assuming that they're bad. Police have a job to do, and it's not an easy job. There's no black and white, there's no clear situation. So there's a lot of gray area unfortunately. So I think just (having) a better understanding on both sides is the solution."
Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.
